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Candlelight Vigil Will Mark 3rd Anniversary Of Jamiel Shaw’s Murder

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LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Family and friends will gather Wednesday night to hold a candlelight vigil to mark the third anniversary of the fatal shooting of Los Angeles High school football star Jamiel Shaw.

The vigil will begin at 5:30 p.m. at 2136 Fifth Ave. in Arlington Heights, where Shaw was fatally shot on March 2, 2008, just three doors down from his home.

Shaw was a model student who had attracted interest from recruiters from Stanford and Rutgers. He rushed for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2007 and was named the Southern League’s most valuable player.

Pedro Espinoza, a member of the 18th Street Gang whom authorities say was in the country illegally, was charged with killing Shaw. A pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.

The killing prompted an unsuccessful petition drive to put “Jamiel’s Law,” which would have given Los Angeles police officers the right to arrest undocumented immigrant gang members before they commit crimes, on the May 2009 municipal election ballot.

Since 1979, the LAPD has operated under Special Order 40, which bars officers from stopping people for the sole purpose of determining their immigration status. The policy was instituted by then-Chief Daryl F. Gates with the expectation that illegal immigrants could report crimes and cooperate with police without fear of being deported.